Shazier, an honorary captain of one of the squads, drove a golf cart to midfield and climbed out to stand briefly to fire up the crowd. He then embraced the other honorary captain, former Ohio State cornerback and current Philadelphia Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins, and Ohio State coach Urban Meyer.

"Every day I'm getting a lot better and I'm able to move around more," Shazier told ESPN's Marty Smith. "I'm doing a thousand times better than I was in December."

Shazier said he is grateful for the outpouring of support from people "from Pittsburgh to California to Ohio to Italy, all over the country, all over the world," who have reached out to him and prayed for him.

The love and support "really helps me push even harder every day," Shazier said.

He also spoke to the team before the game. He told reporters that "I am feeling a lot better than I was."